Nail puller



C. H. JOHNSON.

Feb. 13, 19253 NAIL FULLER. FILED Farms. 1921s athoznz g Patented Feb. 115, i923.

entree CHARLES H. JOHNSON, OF SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA.

NAIL FULLER.

Application filed. February 26, 1921. Serial No. 447,942.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, CnARLns H. JOHN- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sacramento in the county of Sacramento and State of alifornia, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Nail Pullers, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to a nail pulling device of improved character, especially adapted for attachment to the handle or shank of a tool and the object of the invention is to provide an implement of this character which is so designed that it may be used to operate upon nails so located that the ordinary claw hammer or other nail pulling implement cannot engage them. It has been found in practice that a nail driven rather close to a wall or other vertical abutment cannot be removed by the use of the ordinary carpenters hammer. I have, therefore, provided an implement which is designed to operate under conditions where a claw hammer will not, which will pull nails where the head is lacking as easily as where the head is present, which will pull nails that have been driven into a compare ment or between shelves where there is not enough room to operate the ordinary claw hammer, and which will pull nails that cannot be started with the ordinary claw hammer by reason of the fact that sufficient leverage cannot be obtained.

In the drawings forming part of this specification and in which like reference characters indicate like parts in the several views;

Fig. 1 is an elevation showing my nail puller attached to the handle of a hammer, and illustrating the same engaging a nail.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the nail pulling implement detached.

Fig. 3 is an elevation at right angles fromFig. 1.

Fig. 4: is abottom plan view of the same.

In the drawings the numeral 1 indicates the handle of an ordinary claw hammer which is cited for purposes of illustration only, since the nail pulling implement may be attached to any other tool, or may be made as a separate implement attached to a suitable shank. The numeral 2 indicates broadly the nail pulling implement, the same being of substantially the form shown, and comprising a body portion having two upright strips 2 adapted to extend along eter the exterior of the tool handle or shank to which it is attached for the purpose of retaining the implement in position.v The strips 2 are provided with one or more openings 2 therein which are adapted to receive bolts or other fastening means, 4, which will extend through the handle and through the nail puller for the purpose of securely retaining the same in place. The body portion of the implement comprises a substantially flat base portion 2 somewhat oval in contour which is connected to the side strips 2 by the interposition of a portion 2 which is flared or tapered from the base towards the side strips, and which has its exterior surface rounded'to form bearing points.

The base portion 2 has one edge indented to form the nail engaging portion, this indentation being indicated by the numeral 3, and comprising in the present case a slot of graduated width, the side walls of the slot converging downwardly for the purpose of engaging the nail. A graduated slot is provided for the purpose of permitting operation upon nails of varying diam- The inner walls of the indentation, 3, as before stated, converge downwardly and form thereby biting surfaces which engage the nail. The lower portion of the handle or shank to which the implement is attached is cut away as shown in Fi g. 3, to permit the nail to be engaged by the indentations without providing the base of the nail puller of such wide width that it would extend be yond the exterior surface of the handle or shank.

In the operation of this implement upon a nail placed close to a wall or other vertical abutment, reference being bad to Figs. 1 and 3, of the drawing, in which A represents the nail to be extracted, B the wall, and C the floor or other surface into which the nail has been driven, the implement is placed adjacent the nail with the nail entering the slot 3 as far as possible in view of the diameter of the nail, and the implement is turned from the vertical as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 1, whereupon the biting surfaces of the slots will engage the nail and twist and pull the same as the downward motion of the handle increases. One of the portions 2* will form a bearing surface for the movement of the handle, and being rounded will allow an easy movement and at the time prevent damage to the surface against which it rests. As

soon as the handle has been moved to the extreme downward position, it may be raised, and the biting surfaces of the slot will engage a new portion of the nail and the same operation will be repeated until the nail is entirely extracted.

It will be seen that this implement will equally well operate upon a nail havingno head, since the implement engages the shank of the nail and does not depend for its op- .eration upon an engagement with the head of the same. This is a very material advantage, since the ordinary claw hammer cannot extract nails where the head of the same is lacking. It willalso be seen that, in the use of this implement one very serious disadvantage of the claw hammer is eliminated,

namely, the necessity in the latter case where the claw hammer raises or pulls the nail only in proportion to the nail length, which ordinarily means a pulling distance of only two inches, and where it is necessary that if the nail be longer than two inches a pull.

block of wood or some other substantial material must he placed under the hammer it enters the wood, and the nail is raised at each movement of the hammer handle, the length of the nail being of no consequence. Among other advantages of the present structure I may cite the fact that since the nail engaging slot is exactly in the center of the pulling surface of the hammer, and as the construction of both sides of the implement are the same, it pulls equally well when the hammer handle is forced down as when it is lifted. This is not true of the ordinary hammer which pulls nails when perated in one direction only and requires a radius length of the hammer and handle. The present implement requires a very small space in which to operate, since the nail can be extracted as a result of several small bites, as well as a result of ouelong This is of great value in extracting nails that are found in compartments. be-

, tween shelves, or inpositions where there is not enough room in which to work the ordinary claw hammer. In the present implement the leverage starts at zero instead of at about 40 from the vertical as is the case with the ordinary claw hammer, which is of material advantage. It has been a recognized disadvantage of the ordinary claw hammer that by reason of the tapering slot found in the same, a larger nail would receive less leverage than a smaller nail, since the smaller nails would be engaged by the claw close to the starting point of leverage while the larger ones are engaged farther away and therefrom receive less lever age.

It will therefore be seen that I have pro vided an implement of considerable useful ness, and which will accomplish the withdrawal of a nail under circumstances in which the ordinary claw hammer would be useless. While I have-shown this nail pullingimplement as attached to a tool of different character, it is to be understood that it may be used as a separate and distinct implement if so .desiredyand may be attached to any suitable handle or shank.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is p 1. A nail puller comprising parallel side members adapted to be attached to a supporting means; a base portion; and rounded portions connecting said side members to the base portion. said rounded portions being adapted to forni bearing surfaces, said base portion having a recess therein to receive the nail to be extracted.

2. A nail puller comprising relatively narrow side members, adapted to be attached to a supporting means, a base portion having a nail-receiving recess therein and of greater width than said side members, and flared portions connecting said side membersand base portions, said flared portion being rounded to form bearing surfaces.

3. A nail puller comprising a base portion having a nail-receiving recess therein, side members extending from said base portion, and a handle for attachment to said side members, said handle having one of its sides inwardly tape-red toward the inner end of the nailreceiving recess.

In testimony whereof I hereunto allix my signature.

CHARLES H. JOHNSON. 

